Tata AIA Life announces 'Revive' to give customers opportunity to reinstate lapsed insurance policies

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Nov. 2 : Tata AIA Life Insurance today announced the launch of 'Revive', an initiative to reinstate lapsed insurance policies.

As part of the scheme, customers will be given waivers on health certificate and interest for selected lapsed policies (subject to underwriting exclusions and other terms and conditions of the policy). The offer will be valid till November 30, 2016.

Often, for a number of reasons, policy holders cannot pay their premiums even after the grace period. The inevitable happens and the insurance policy gets lapsed. Once lapsed, the policy will not provide any benefit or coverage to the consumers, exposing them and their loved ones to financial risks. This is an undesirable scenario dreaded by most policy holders. Tata AIA understands the inconvenience the lapse can cause customers, since sometimes they may fail to pay the premium due to unavoidable circumstances.

In order to protect their customers, Tata AIA Life, through the Revive initiative, will reinstate lapsed policies with the premium due from January 1, 2012 with the subject to terms and conditions of the offer. As a mark of its commitment towards its loyal customers, the company has extended the offer even to those policy holders who have not paid their premium after fourth policy year.

Commenting on the Revive campaign, Amitabh Verma, Chief Operating Officer, Tata AIA Life said, "Revival of life insurance policy is like extending a helping hand for policy holders to safeguard their families financially along with the benefit of no additional premium cost. It is an opportunity for all those who were unable to pay their premium on the due date. The initiative is a part of our endeavours to reduce the protection gap in the country and simplifying processes for better customer experience."

Tata AIA Life has introduced a host of initiatives to improve the customer experience. These initiatives include introduction of a service charter where the customers are promised pre-defined timelines to address proposal processing, service request, pay-out process, claim processing and grievance redressal.

Addressing grievances, an important step in enhancing customer experience, also provides valuable consumer insights, which can be used to boost customer satisfaction. Keeping this in mind, the company has devised a robust escalation matrix to help the customers manage their policies and connect with senior management of the company effectively in the time of major grievances.

The initiatives taken by Tata AIA Life in the area of claim settlement have translated into promising results. The organisation has registered an individual claim settlement ratio of 96.8 percent for FY15-16, which is one of the best in the private life insurance sector in India. This is an improvement from the previous year's 94.5 percent. The Company has also gone the extra mile to ensure that all the claims received were decided by the end of the financial year, leaving no instance of an outstanding claim.

About Tata AIA Life

Tata AIA Life Insurance Company Limited (Tata AIA Life) is a joint venture company, formed by Tata Sons Ltd. and AIA Group Ltd. (AIA). Tata AIA Life combines Tata's pre-eminent leadership position in India and AIA's presence as the largest, independent listed pan-Asian life insurance group in the world spanning 18 markets in Asia Pacific. Tata AIA Life has written retail new business weighted premium of Rs. 344 crore in the first half of FY 17, which represents a growth rate of 102 percent over previous year. As of Sep 30, 2016, the 13th-month persistency of the company stands at 80.5 percent. At the end of FY 16, the retail claims settlement ratio of the company was 96.8 percent.

About Tata

Founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868, the Tata group is a global enterprise, headquartered in India, comprising over 100 independent operating companies. The group operates in more than 100 countries across six continents, with a mission 'To improve the quality of life of the communities we serve globally, through long-term stakeholder value creation based on Leadership with Trust'. Tata Sons is the principal investment holding company and promoter of Tata companies. Sixty-six percent of the equity share capital of Tata Sons is held by philanthropic trusts, which support education, health, livelihood generation and art and culture. In 2014-15, the revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was $108.78 billion. These companies collectively employ over 600,000 people. Each Tata company or enterprise operates independently under the guidance and supervision of its own board of directors and shareholders.

There are 29 publicly-listed Tata enterprises with a combined market capitalisation of about $116.41 billion (as on March 31, 2016). Tata companies with significant scale include Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Teleservices, Titan, Tata Communications and Indian Hotels.

About AIA

AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively "AIA" or the "Group") comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific - wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei, a 97 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, a 49 per cent joint venture in India and a representative office in Myanmar and Cambodia.

The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai almost a century ago. It is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$168 billion as of 30 November 2015.

AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 29 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code "1299" with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: "AAGIY"). (ANI)